Quiet Period

As much as I have been dying to blog, it seems that it has been really difficult.  Like God has me in a quiet period.  The reality is, blogging is fighting with other demanding priorities in my life and it’s loosing.  I find myself in a similar situation I was in several years ago.  Pastoring and working a full-time job, tending to my family etc.  Blogging has really been my personal memoire.  I wonder if I will look back in the coming months and years and regret there being a gaping hole in my “journal”.  Funny thing is, I am preaching on regret this weekend.  It’s not as if God hasn’t been doing incredible things. . . . . .Sometimes I think it’s ok just to pull back and listen and observe. . . . .we can be so busy sometimes.

 

Church

We had church in the lobby of Kaiser Hospital in Walnut Creek on Tuesday and Wednesday.  For those who don’t know what’s been going on, Giuseppe and Katie Ciccone, our worship Pastor and his wife, have been going through some extremely difficult times.  Tuesday night Katie and Giuseppe spent precious moments with their son Solomon before he went to be with Jesus.  Katie was rushed in for emergency surgery that saved her life.  It has been a battle in the heavenly realms this week.

On Wednesday afternoon, multiple churches represented, maybe 60 people in total, we lifted Katie up in prayer in the hospital lobby.  We sang praise songs, prayed, cried and and loved one another as we believed God for a miracle.  Katie made it through and is doing well physically, thank you Jesus.  K & G both need our prayer as they recover emotionally.  I have never seen such a display of faith before.  It was inspiring to see K and G respond with faith, love and compassion in the midst of their loss.  Blessing those who were there to serve them, doctors, nurses and staff.  Truly an amazing couple.  Most people think church is a building.  Church is the people being Jesus to others.  It was amazing to be a part of something so authentic and Christ focused.  It was maybe how Jesus intended the church to be.

If you want to track the updates and praise reports, the best way to do that is to become a friend of Bay Summit Church on Facebook.

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Project Homless Connect

Bay Summit had the privilege of serving with a couple great public service organizations this past Wednesday.  The Concord Police Department and the Contra Costa Health Services department hosted an event for the homeless in Concord and the surrounding area.  Frankly, I was very impressed how organized they were.  They had just about every service you could think of, from haircuts and massages to food stamps and medical, dental and vision care.  They had a food court too.  I am not sure how many people were blessed, and it doesn’t really matter.  I just love the heart of the community leaders.  We are doing everything we can as a church to partner with these organizations and to help these kind of events be the best they can be in Jesus name.  What an honor.  Can’t wait till the next time.

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Dead Flowers

I saw an image today that immediately made me think of a verse in the Bible.  John 12:24 says “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”  Dying is never a fun process, but it produces, or really reproduces.  Jesus died so that we could live and find freedom in his dying.  It is part of God’s design, and we are similar to the grain of wheat.  Because Christ died, the ministry multiplied, it really exploded.  We must not let the tragedy or disappointments in our lives, keep us from allowing God to multiply the results to bring Him glory.  There was purpose behind Christ’s death, there is purpose behind whatever has happened in your life.  Let God use it and produce something from it.  Romans 8:28 is God’s promise in this.

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Want to be inspired?

This man IS inspiration.  Watch this if you want to be lifted up and encouraged.

God bless him.

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Back to School

We had the opportunity to pray for and bless those who were going back to school last Sunday.  We prayed for students, teachers, tutors and anyone else who was affiliated with going back to school.  It was very cool.  We are believing that God will use these people to make a significant impact for the kingdom this year.

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Building

I have to say that I feel blessed to be a part of such an amazing church.  Pastor Scott and Lynnette are doing such a great job leading out the vision God has given them.  This week has been a week of planning and building.  We have been planning out what we feel like God would have us accomplish for the second half of the year and God has been building our leadership team.   It has been amazing to see God raise up people to operate in their gifting, passion and strengths.  Shay and Brandy are leading the effort on the student front and are doing such a great job.  Marty and Shelly have a heart for prayer and will be helping develop that ministry.  Marty will also be taking more of a primary role in Bay Summit’s Men’s ministry.  The rest of the year is going to be amazing.

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Encouragement

I felt like being an encouragement to all who read this blog.  You are an amazing work of God, the Bible says we are created in God’s image.  He has great plans for your life, plans that He says will make you prosper.  If you trust God and follow him wholeheartedly, he will ensure that HIS plans for your life come to fruition.  I am betting that HIS plans are far better than anything we could come up with.

Psalm 138:8 says: The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.

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Off the Chain

We have had many powerful services in the past 5 months, and tonight was one of those services.  We pray before each service that people would encounter God in a new and fresh way and expect God to move mightily.  We had an amazing time of worship followed by a great message by Pastor Scott on what worship is all about.  People just lingered, didn’t want to leave.  If you haven’t been to a Bay Summit service, I encourage you to come check out what is goin on at 5pm at 5353 Concord Blvd in Concord.

Next week Pastor Scott will be closing out his series on Worship and we will be moving into a new series of messages called One Prayer.  God is on the move…even during the summer.

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Blessed with perspective

I JUST READ ISAAC AND CAROLS BLOG AND IT GAVE ME SOME GOOD PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE.  WE DEAL WITH STUFF, BUT NOT LIKE PEOPLE AROUND  THE WORLD.  CHECK OUT THEIR BLOG, IT WILL BLESS YOU AND BROADEN YOUR PERSPECTIVE.  THEY ARE SUCH AN AMAZING COUPLE.

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